Saving Ben
by vahanian
Summary: On a scouting mission Ben is captured and taken into the structure over Wilmington. The Mason's devise a plan to break him out and maybe cause some damage to the aliens in the process. But what happens when he's up there and more importantly, what can he learn about the enemy forces?
1. Chapter 1

**Saving Ben**

**Chapter One**

**A/N: This story is set in the second season just after they start making their way to Charleston. The only differences are that Jimmy didn't die and Pope and Anthony never left the 2nd Mass.**

* * *

The information that the map was providing was clear but Tom Mason continued to scour the paper looking for any possible alternatives. Despite the fact that he had seen his son Ben going out on these sorts of scouting missions before he still hated the feeling of powerlessness he experienced when he let his little boy leave without him.

It was different with Ben than with his other sons because he had already lost him once and the fear that he would loose him again was escalating every day, especially with the hard skin on his back spreading endlessly.

"There are no other options Tom." Captain Weaver stated from somewhere near the back of the tent and Tom let his eyes close briefly as he realised the Captain was right.

"He won't be going on his own." It was a statement but Weaver chose to see it as a question.

"Of course not. We'll send Jimmy with him...Lord knows the boys work well together." Weaver answered, rubbing his face as the two men finally turned to face each other.

"Alright I'll tell them to be ready to leave at nightfall." Tom agreed with only a little reluctance as he made his way out of the command tent and into the bright sunlight of midday.

The bustle of the 2nd Mass always managed to make him smile because it reminded him that humanity was still hanging on and so he was a little happier when he got to the tent he shared with his three boys.

He walked inside to see that the tent was occupied by only one of his sons but not the son he was looking for. Hal was asleep in his bunk as he had just came back from a scouting mission in which he and Maggie had found the only way through the looming mountains blocked. That passage was the only major route through for miles and it would delay the 2nd Mass by about a week on their journey to Charleston if they couldn't find a way through which Weaver claimed was unacceptable.

Tom turned to walk back out when a sleepy voice behind him called out, "Dad? What's wrong?"

The Professor turned to see his older son half out of bed ready to face whatever emergency his father would present him with and it made Tom quite proud to know how capable all of his sons were.

"Nothings wrong, I'm just looking for Ben." Tom explained, lowering the flap to the tent back down and Hal rubbed his eyes as he processed what his dad had said.

"I think he's supposed to be helping Jamil. Now things have quietened down a bit they have started working on that frequency thing again." Hal explained and Tom nodded his understanding.

"OK thanks Hal, you go back to sleep." Tom was out of the tent as soon as he finished speaking without giving Hal any time to respond, not that the boy wanted to as, as soon as his father was out of sight he collapsed back onto his bed and was asleep instantly.

* * *

"What about now?"

"Sorry, nothing." Ben answered apologetically despite the fact that it wasn't his fault they were having no success.

Jamil nodded his head wearily and fiddled with the dials on the small radio in front of them. After a few moments he looked expectantly at the younger boy who simply shook his head and Jamil let out a deep sigh.

"How's it going?" Tom queried as he walked into the tent where they were working. If Ben was startled by the sudden appearance he didn't show it whereas Jamil nearly fell off his stool but tried to pass it off as him meaning to leave to give the two family members some privacy. It fooled neither of the Mason men but they kindly let him walk out with his pride intact by not mentioning it.

"What are you doing here Dad?" Ben asked with a small smile.

Tom returned the smile as he pulled out a stool next to his son, sat down and explained, "Weaver wants you and Jimmy to take a trip out to the mountains to the south at nightfall tonight for a little scouting."

Ben instantly hardened his face as he started to try and think like a soldier. "What are we scouting for?"

Tom tried to keep the proud glint out of his eyes at his son's obvious efforts and replied, "You need to try to find a way through the mountains for the whole 2nd Mass. Hal told us that the main route on the map has been blocked by a landslide and we want to see if there are any other routes not mapped out."

Ben nodded as he thought through his mission, already making some plans as to what he and Jimmy would do when they got out there. "Can you do that?" Tom asked when Ben seemed to be lost in thought for a while.

"Yes Sir." Ben responded with a grin that his father matched.

* * *

"Ben I'm not sure we should be around here, Hal and Maggie already reported that this is blocked off so aren't we wasting our time?" Jimmy asked his partner as he carefully scanned the surrounding area for any signs of movement in the dark.

"This will save us time if I could get this route clear. We can't even guarantee that we will will find another passage large enough for the 2nd Mass to pass through but we know this one is." Ben explained to the younger boy as he looked at the valley between the two mountains that Weaver had been expecting to pass through.

It was easily 100 metres wide but had piles of dry rock piled almost 3 metres high in some areas. There was no way to travel through via the surrounding mountains as they were too steep to allow any of the vehicles to get through.

"OK, well...lets at least get a closer look at this thing so we can see if they are too heavy even for you super boy." Jimmy asked with just a hint of teasing tacked on at the end.

Ben smiled as he nodded and moved forward to lead them both down to the edge of the blockage. They both remained alert until they got close enough to the rock, at which point Ben gave his gun to Jimmy who continually scanned the area whilst Ben worked on the rock.

He picked a smallish rock to start with, because he didn't want it to be too heavy even for him and then he would end up throwing his back out. He would never hear an end to the old man jokes from Hal. To his delight he found that he had no more trouble picking up the rock than anyone would have picking up an empty cardboard box. It was bulky but not heavy.

He dropped the rock off to the side and then went back but this time he chose one of the heaviest looking ones to make sure he could in fact clear the whole thing. It was far heavier than the last and Ben found he had to exert himself far more but he was able to move that rock off to the side with relatively little difficulty as well.

Jimmy took the opportunity to look back at the older boy and they shared a smile knowing how happy this was going to make everyone back at the 2nd Mass.

By the time the sun started to rise, the boys had been out for several hours and Jimmy was getting jumpy to say the least. It started getting worse as the rising sun cast shadows on everything making even the mundane things look like a vicious Skitter.

He had said several times over the last hour that they should go back and that Ben could finish the job the following night but Ben kept reminding him how long the 2nd Mass had been camping under the latest overpass. They had been there too long already and they needed to get moving as soon as possible meaning the pass had to be clear as soon as possible.

Jimmy relented to his best friend's judgement but he still felt uneasy when the sun had fully risen as Ben was working on hauling the final rocks from their position.

In the daylight it was now easy to see what had caused the landslide and it was obvious that it had been intentional. The side of one of the mountains had scorch marks across it and great empty areas where the rocks had fallen from. It just made Jimmy more uncomfortable to know that the aliens had probably blocked the route for the very reason of trapping humans behind those mountains.

"Nearly done Ben?" Jimmy called out as quietly as possible, still not taking his weary eyes of the landscape.

"Ben?" When the other teenager didn't answer, Jimmy turned around to see Ben stood next to the final rocks, stock still and staring into the distance. The younger boy moved towards him a few steps before he heard something he had realised he had missed in his exhaustion.

Mech roars.

Jimmy felt a second of indecision as he queried over whether to run to his best friend or to look around for the threat. Before he could decide, Ben turned to him and his eyes widened in fear at something that was over Jimmy's shoulder. The brunette boy didn't even have a chance to raise his weapon before he felt a sharp shooting pain in the back of his head and everything went dark.

* * *

Jimmy woke up alone and he scrambled to find his gun which was exactly where he had dropped it. The sun was significantly higher in the sky now, telling him that he had been knocked out for a while and it was immediately obvious that Ben was nowhere nearby. He tried to dampen down his panic as he searched the vicinity of the rubble but soon he realised exactly what had happened.

Ben had been taken by the skitters. Again.

He ran. Flat out as fast as he could, all the way back to camp and arrived there fifteen minutes later, panting and out of breathe. The sentries immediately let him through as they were all aware that the two boys had been out on a mission and hadn't come home at the designated time.

Jimmy ran straight to the command post and into what looked like the preparation for a search team. Weaver, Tom, Hal, Maggie and Dai were stood around a map with Weaver clearly in the middle of issuing orders but he stopped the second he saw the young boy.

"Jimmy, where the hell have you been?" Weaver asked with real concern for the boy.

"Where's Ben?" Tom asked with the fear in his eyes that he had seen in the eyes of many parents since the invasion.

"Taken...Skitters!" Jimmy managed to pant out before falling against the side of the tent and sitting down on the ground, desperately trying to regain his breath.

Almost as soon as his butt hit the ground, Hal had hauled him back up onto his feet and practically growled into his face, "What happened?"

"Calm down Hal." Tom ordered, laying a calming hand on the shoulder of his oldest son. The boy did but only slightly though he did release his hold on Jimmy.

"Ben was clearing away the landslide...he was trying to get it done in one night so that we could move out sooner...we stayed out too long and..." Jimmy had been struggling to catch his breath but he paused at the end because he was feeling guilty.

"And what Jimmy?" Weaver questioned in a calm voice.

Jimmy couldn't take his eyes off his own feet as he murmured, "And we got sloppy."

The anger in the room was practically tangible and Jimmy felt his remorse escalate. He was surprised however when he felt a hand on his own shoulder and looked up into the warm brown eyes of Tom Mason.

"We'll get him back." Tom asserted with certainty that nobody else in the room felt.

"We don't know where they took him Tom, it could be a number of places. We don't have time to search everywhere for him." Weaver tried to explain in a gentle voice that was very unusual for him.

Tom looked around desperately for a few moments as he tried to come up with a way to not leave his son behind again. An idea seemed to come upon him in an instant.

"We'll go back to the landslide area and follow the valley through then see if we can pick up tracks on the other side. They can't have come back towards us without our guard spotting them because the area is too narrow." Tom proposed excitedly. It sounded like a good plan in theory but even something as small as not finding any tracks could stop them from finding Ben.

Weaver calculated the situation in his mind but soon realised that there was nothing he could do or say that would stop Tom from trying to find his son so he needed to support the man.

"Tom take these three with you and report back when you find where ever it is these things have taken him." Weaver ordered and Tom and the others quickly agreed all except for Jimmy.

"Wait I don't get to go with them?" Jimmy asked astounded.

"You're exhausted soldier and you've just come back from a mission, not to mention the wound on the back of you're head that is currently ruining my floor." Weaver replied in a firm tone that left no room for argument.

Jimmy gingerly touched the back of his head and found that his wound was dripping blood and so he had no choice but to nodded dejectedly and follow the rest of the fighters out of the command post. Instead of going towards the weaponry however, he made his way to find Dr Glass to get his head stitched up.

* * *

"Have to admit he did a damn good job." Hal huffed out as he and Dai hauled the final rock away to the side of the pass.

"Yeah this block was nearly 3 metres high yesterday." Maggie added as she inspected the surrounding area for any alien activity.

"The pass is cleared but at what cost?" The professor asked rhetorically as they all mounted their bikes again and set off through the valley. By the time they started to see signs that they were almost at the other side, they got off their bikes and started to walk so that the noise didn't attract any unwelcome guests.

When the mountains opened up in front of them, Hal immediately looked towards the ground for any sign of Skitter or Mech tracks but before he got a chance Maggie put her hand on his arm and said, "Look up Hal."

The four fighters stood with their mouths wide open at the sight before them and each immediately comprehended the difficulty of the task before them.

"We are on the other side of the mountains now so the map would say that that city is Wilmington right?" Dai asked of nobody in particular.

"Yes, I would think so. They did say that they put one of those things up over every major city." Tom answered and nobody could take their eyes off the massive four legged alien structure in front of them, looming over the city of Wilmington like a dangerous predator.

Nobody had any doubt as to where they had taken Ben.


	2. Chapter 2

**Saving Ben **

**Chapter Two**

* * *

The first thing he noticed was a deep humming but it wasn't a normal type of hum like you hear coming from a refrigerator, it was a hum that travelled through you. A hum that felt alive.

Ben dared to peek open his eyes and found that he was alone, led on the floor in a room that was clearly not his tent but reminded him more of the place in which he had been harnessed. He found that flashes of what had happened before he was taken were coming back to him. He could remember moving rock and hearing something but he was tired and couldn't pick it out clearly. When he finally heard the noise of the Skitters and the Mechs it was too late and a glance of Jimmy's shoulder told him instantly that they were in trouble.

Jimmy was knocked unconscious by the arm of a Mech which Ben clocked as unusual before he surged forward to try to defend his best friend. His attempts were in vain however as two Skitters had come up on either side of him and forced something over his mouth. He had blacked out and couldn't remember anything more.

Deciding that he didn't want to wait around, Ben got to his feet and stealthily moved to what he assumed was the door. Just as he reached it, the panel hissed open and Ben was forced to take a step back as two Skitters practically jumped on him.

They were fast but Ben was faster. He had been training for close to four months in the best ways to kill the aliens and with his advanced abilities he was easily capable of shoving his arm into the mouth of the first Skitter that approached and promptly squeezed the material that constituted their soft spot with little regard or hesitation. It slumped to the floor, silent and unmoving only three seconds after it had initially entered the room.

The second one was a little harder to kill because it seemed a little more prepared after watching what happened to its friend. Ben made a lunge forward, aiming for the creatures mouth but it quickly scuttled out of the way and left Ben to try to recover his balance.

He rapidly regained his footing and this time made a false move towards the Skitter and when it moved, he adjusted his shot with the speed that only a harnessed child can achieve and got his arms around its neck.

In a show of brute strength he pulled at the flesh and hard shell in his grip and ripped the Skitter's head from its body, letting the alien fall to the ground.

Without wasting a second to catch his breath he ran out into the hallway and started attempting to navigate the maze in front of him. It wasn't long before he realised that all the similar looking hallways were blending into one and he was getting lost. There weren't even any distinguishing features in the red panelled walls that could help him find the way out.

Eventually he leaned against the wall in an effort to come up with a plan but the distinctive sound of Skitters made him take off in a run in the opposite direction.

Just as he was about to lose hope, he spotted a rounder panel in the wall in front of him and guessing that it might be a door, he threw himself at it.

Luckily it automatically opened when he got close and closed again behind him. The teenager started to worry about what would happen if the Skitters decided to search this room but before he realised it, a light grey mist was slowly sinking down on him from some sort of spout placed high on the wall. He ran to the door but it was immovable this time and he understood suddenly that he had been trapped as he rammed his shoulder repeatedly against the unyielding panel.

Before long the mist had filled the entire room and Ben had no choice to breath it in.

Then everything went dark again.

* * *

The ride back to camp was silent for the four fighters and for the two Mason men it was filled with a tragic sadness. It was abundantly clear that it would be impossible for them to get Ben back from that structure. Not only would they have to fight their way up there, they would then have to find Ben and get them all out safely. It was a hopeless task.

Weaver was awaiting them on their return expecting to be informed of the situation but Tom was struggling to find his voice. Luckily Maggie spoke up for them.

"We followed the tracks to an alien structure over Wilmington and we are sure that's were they've taken Ben." Maggie summed up succinctly and it was immediately obvious that Weaver understood the difficulty of the task before them.

He took a deep breath and then put his hand on Tom's shoulder to comfort the taller man. "Tom I am so sorry..." Weaver trailed off but at his words Tom instantly looked up with an intense fire in his eyes.

"We're not leaving him there Captain." Tom stated defiantly and in his periphery he saw supportive nods from the people surrounding him.

"Tom, we don't have time to wait here, so close to a structure, for you to come up with a plan and then save Ben. We need to get to Charleston post haste and now the route is clear I see no reason why we shouldn't pull out tonight." It was clear in Weaver's tone that he wasn't trying to be cruel he was just doing what he thought was best for the 2nd Mass as a whole and his tone was stern. His decision was final.

"Permission to stay behind Captain and catch up to you when I can?" Tom asked, determined that he wouldn't leave his son behind. If it came down to it and Weaver refused to give him permission then the oldest Mason planned to disobey orders and leave the 2nd Mass if necessary. His family would always come first.

Weaver looked away and took a few seconds to weigh up his options. He had known Tom for a while now and realised that if he denied the man permission that wouldn't stop him but it would mean that the 2nd Mass would lose him and he didn't want that.

Taking a few steps closer, Weaver spoke in a lower voice and said to Tom, "I warn you now Mason that this is a suicide mission." He paused a few seconds to let his words sink in and then continued, "That being said I give you permission to go save your son and if they decide, I will give these three permission to join you too but no more than that. I can't spare you many fighters Tom."

Tom let a small smile of gratitude light up his face as he shook Weaver's hand in thanks and then led his team out of the tent. He didn't even need to verbally ask to know that Hal, Maggie and Dai would go with him, now it was just a matter of deciding what they were going to do.

* * *

Hal passed the binoculars to his blonde partner and tried to keep the exasperated look off his face however it was getting increasingly difficult with the hours passing and no signs of weakness emerging in the structure or the routine of its occupants.

It was getting dark now meaning that if they couldn't get some new information soon they should probably head back to camp. Weaver had agreed to stay one more day to give the team some chance but didn't want to delay the 2nd Mass by too long. That meant they had one night of planning somewhere safe before they really had to make their move.

Tom and Dai made their way over to Hal and Maggie as Maggie lowered her binoculars and Hal asked, "Have you guys had any luck?"

"Nothing yet." Dai replied as he and Tom dropped themselves down on the mud bank next to their younger counterparts.

"OK, well I guess we will head back to camp and..." Tom automatically stopped talking when he heard a branch snap in the trees off to the side of them and four guns were aimed in that direction, awaiting any further movement.

The last thing they expected to see was a child walking out of the trees with the stiff mannerisms that were customary of the harnessed. She was just a little girl, with red hair and she couldn't have been older than seven years old.

"I just want to talk to you, would you please lower your weapons?" The girl asked very politely but with no emotion on her face.

With only a moments hesitation, Tom nodded for the group to lower their weapons but not drop them completely. Once her demands had been met the undeniable sound of a Skitter moving towards them could be heard and the group of fighters itched to raise their weapons in the direction of the sound but one look from Tom had them holding their positions.

In the darkness they could make out the shape of a Skitter appear just on the edge of the tree line next to the little girl who spoke up again. "Tom Mason, I have wished to talk to you since I first learned of your importance to the overlords."

Taking a brave step closer Tom asked, "And why is that?"

If a Skitter could smile Tom got the feeling it would have at the bravery he was showing. Instead it responded, "My people were once not unlike the children of your species Tom, we were controlled just as they are but unlike them some of us have managed to overcome the control."

The group cast glances at each other at the story the Skitter was unravelling as it was quite unbelievable but the alien continued to talk, "We hate what they did to us and we have formed a resistance...I am the leader of that resistance."

"Why should I believe that? Why should I trust you?" Tom asked disbelievingly. It was a nice idea that maybe humans weren't alone in the fight but it seemed more likely to simply be another trap.

"Because I am the only one who can help you get Ben back." The alien stated simply and although the child that he was using could show no emotion in her voice, the words almost sounded smug. It was like the Skitter knew that he had Tom right where he wanted him.

"Why would you want to help us save Ben?" Tom questioned, running a hand through his hair as he started to realise that he may have no other option but to follow the creature in front of him.

"We have a certain interest in the boy for our own purposes, nothing you need to..."

The girl's voice started to reply but the end of her sentence was drowned out when Tom shouted, "Damn it if you want us to go along with this you damn well better tell me what you want with my son!"

His anger was palpable and was filling up the small clearing they were in and that Hal started to worry whether his dad may just shoot the so called rebellion leader before he had a chance to help them get to Ben. To ensure that his father didn't do anything rash, he took a step forward and laid a calming hand on Tom's arm and it seemed to work as most of the tension drained from his shoulders.

"Ben is...special. He is something the overlords didn't count on when they started to use the harness technology and he may be the key to our resistance efforts." The Skitter explained slowly as if unwilling to disclose the information. "Now you may chose to believe me or you can find your own way into the structure but I can guarantee that you will not survive any attempt you make by yourselves."

Tom hated the feeling of being powerless but he really didn't have a choice.

"What do you want us to do?"

* * *

"I don't like this Dad." Hal stated worriedly just inside the perimeter of the camp when they got back. The Skitter had explained the plan to them and although all kinds of warning bells were going off in the Professor's mind, he realised he had to risk it for his boy.

But that didn't mean the others had to risk it too.

Before they parted ways he called Maggie and Dai back to where he and Hal were standing and declared, "This could be a trap." He looked each member of the group in the eyes to make sure they understood that before carrying on, "I can't ask you to follow me up there and I won't ask you. I will go up there by myself and if it turns out to be a trap then we have minimised the loss to the 2nd Mass and you three can think of another way to save Ben." The proposal showed how much he cared for them and they could all tell that he was being sincere.

Hal, Maggie and Dai shared a look before Hal stepped forward and said, "Dad you are insane if you think I would let you go up there by yourself. My little brother is up there and I will help you save him or die trying...I'm with you."

Tom grabbed his eldest son and pulled him into a rough hug, pleased and proud that he had someone to stand by him at times like this. When the two men separated, Maggie took a step closer and couldn't quite make eye contact as she said, "I love Ben like he was my own brother and there is no way I wouldn't go up there for him with you guys...I'm in too."

Tom let off another smile in appreciation of what his team was doing and he put an arm around Maggie's shoulder in gratitude for her willingness to sacrifice herself for his family.

Finally they turned to Dai who looked into the brown eyes of the man he would say was his best friend and murmured, "Damn you Mason, I'll follow you to the gates of hell and back and that is just what this mission is. I'd hate to miss the opportunity to see what the inside of one of those things looks like." Tom smiled at the light hearted way Dai had said he was coming with them and nodded his acceptance.

Once they had all pledged to go on the possible suicide mission the following night, Hal, Maggie and Dai went to catch some sleep and Tom went to fill in Weaver on what had been happening. It was big news after all because if the Skitter hadn't been lying then the war against the aliens may have just reached a pivotal turning point.

He found the Captain straight away and reported on everything that had happened and watched the disbelief spread across Dan's face that he imagined had been on his own about an hour previously.

"Well, I'll be damned Tom if that isn't one hell of a far fetched story." Weaver said, sitting back in his chair and readjusting his cap.

"I know and I'm still not sure if I believe it but its the only viable option I have to save Ben." Tom exclaimed, mirroring his commanding officer's position unconsciously.

"You know what you're doing?" Weaver finally asked after a few solid minutes of silence in which the older man was clearly thinking it all through.

"Yes Sir." Tom answered though neither man believed his answer. His uncertainty was written all across his face but Weaver didn't point it out and just let the Professor leave.

Just before he disappeared from sight however, Weaver called out, "Be careful Tom."

Tom simply nodded not knowing if he would be able to keep himself, Ben or his team safe the following night. All he knew what that he had to try because he couldn't let his boy stay trapped up there, possibly being tortured as he was, without doing everything he could to stop it.

* * *

The next time Ben woke up he was in a different room but it only differed in the fact that it had a hard table made of the same material as the walls in the middle of it and he was currently lying on it.

He had clearly been moved from the room he attempted to seek refuge in but whoever had moved him was no longer around. He attempted to get up but found that he couldn't move from being flat on his stomach and soon identified straps tightened across his body, making him immobile.

A few experimental tugs against his bindings proved futile as even with his superior strength he found it impossible to loosen them. He wasn't forced to wait long on his own however as only a few minutes after he regained consciousness, a door out of his sight hissed open and a Skitter made its way into the room.

That was when he noticed another thing that the new room had that the old room didn't.

There were dozens of long, black pipes on the roof which seemed to move of their accord leading Ben to conclude that they were not actually pipes. They also appeared to be made of some type of flesh which immediately had Ben thinking of the harness and had him scrambling even harder to get out of the straps.

Unfortunately his efforts were in vain and all at once the things that Ben thought could only be described as tentacles, moved towards him at some unknown signal from the Skitter. They attached themselves to various parts of his body and suddenly he felt a blindingly sharp pain.

He screamed but it didn't dismay the tentacles from burrowing deeper into his body and it didn't seem to bother the Skitter who simply left and let the other creatures in the room, continue their business.

The relief from pain that came when the tentacles seemed to lie still within his body was short lived when something seemed to be travelling down them from the roof and into his body. It felt like rushing water was being poured through his veins whilst simultaneously a fire was scorching his bones but whilst being painful and a highly uncomfortable sensation, Ben was able to refrain from screaming out.

He couldn't be sure how long the process lasted for but when the tentacles removed themselves, causing the same pain they had on entry, Ben felt so exhausted that he instantly blacked out, knowing that there was no need to hold onto consciousness any more as the tentacles were disappearing into the roof.

Only a few moments after Ben had closed his eyes, he was out cold and so didn't notice when the same Skitter from earlier came back in and started cutting into his body.

* * *

"Tom!" A feminine voice called from behind Tom as he swung his rifle onto his back.

He turned to see Anne walking towards him with the same look on her face that Rebecca had used to get when he had done something wrong.

"Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?" A playful glint in her eye told him that he wasn't really in trouble because they both knew perfectly well that he would never leave without saying goodbye to her and Matt first.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Tom stated with a smile that he usually only reserved for his boys but Anne was an exception to that.

When she got close enough they pulled each other into a hug that neither really want to break but finally necessity dictated that they must. With a final peck on the lips, Anne whispered, "Be safe Tom and come back to us."

"I'll try." Tom replied because he couldn't promise that he would come back only that he would try his best to. Anne rested her hand on his cheek for a moment before making her way back to the medical bus as Tom watched her go.

When Anne was out of sight, Tom took off through the camp in search of Matt. It didn't take Tom long to find the location of his youngest son because Matt still hadn't dropped the frustrating habit of hanging out with Pope, no matter how much it annoyed his father.

True to his guess, Matt was sat with a toolbox in his lap, occasionally passing demanded items to Pope as the man worked on the engine of one of the military vehicles.

Just as Weaver had said, the 2nd Mass were pulling out in a few hours but if everything went smoothly, then Tom and his team would get Ben back that night and it would only be a short walk for the five of them to rejoin the group. The impending deadline was probably the reason why Pope reacted to Tom's presence with a little more frustration than usual.

"What are you doing here Professor? Shouldn't you be chasing after your alien son?" Pope asked bitingly without turning his attention away from the engine he was working on.

The thought that he might die that night was the reason why Tom was a little more patient with the criminal than he usually was as well as the fact that he didn't like Matt to see him get angry.

"Just came to say goodbye to Matt." Tom explained, not really paying the other man much attention but turning all of his focus to his youngest son who put the toolbox down and came running into his arms.

Tom was well prepared to catch him and savoured the hug as he always did before he went on a mission that might mean he wasn't coming home.

"Can't I get any of that action?" Hal asked coming up from behind his father and brother and turning the embrace into a group hug. Tom happily drew back one arm from Matt so he could wrap it around Hal.

"Well isn't that sickening." Pope drawled as he contemplated throwing a spanner at them but thought better of it. He wouldn't mind hitting any of the older Mason's but he was growing fond of the littlest one and wouldn't want him hurt in the crossfire.

Tom ignored him but broke off the hug anyway because it was time for them to go. He got down on his knees once Matt was back on his feet and scuffed his hair affectionately. "You be good OK Matt, Anne will look after you and hopefully we will be meeting back up with you tomorrow." Tom stated with the optimism he knew the little boy needed to hear.

"Will you have Ben with you." Matt asked hopefully.

"We will." Hal promised when Tom paused only slightly. Tom just didn't want to make any promises to his children that he couldn't keep. He couldn't promise to bring Ben back because he wasn't even sure he could bring himself and his team back.

"We'll see you soon." Tom settled for saying because it was optimistic not a lie and kissed the top of Matt's head once before he left with Hal.

* * *

"This has got to be a trap or he would be here by now." Dai warned quietly as they stood in the trees they had seen the Skitter leader come out of the previous day.

"We need to wait him out, what other choice do we have?" Hal whispered back from behind the tree next to the Asian man.

Dai had no reply so Hal assumed he had made his point but Maggie whispering, "Look!" from behind him had them all turning around to see the Skitter and the little girl from the previous day, slowly making their way towards them.

There was a lot more light than there was the day before because the Skitter got closer to the humans than it had previously and that was how Tom was able to pick out the feature that was indistinguishable from the distance they had seen the Skitter at before.

His one red eye.

Tom lunged before either the humans or the alien could react and he managed to make contact with his tormentor but was quickly pushed off by one of its many legs. He went flying into a tree and Hal and Maggie went to help him up whilst Dai kept his gun trained on the creature.

"Are you OK Dad?" Hal asked in a panic as he helped the older man to his feet.

"No, that thing was the one that tortured me on the ship during the summer!" Tom practically yelled and tried to dive for the red eyed Skitter again but the two teenagers were just about able to hold him back.

"Please Tom let me explain that what I did on that ship was necessary so that my allegiances were not cast into suspicion and I took no pleasure from your pain." The leader explained through the little girl he had brought with him.

The Professor was struggling to contain his anger but again realised with some frustration that he had no choice but to follow this Skitter onto an alien structure to save his son regardless of what the creature may have done in the past.

He glanced at Hal and Maggie to show them that he wouldn't attempt to attack the Skitter again and they released him but stayed close just in case. "Lets just do this." Tom declared shortly.

The Skitter seemed to nod which was strange to witness as it was an all too human thing to do.

"First we must wait for some of the rebels under my command to arrive." The red eyed skitter announced and suddenly the four humans felt very uncomfortable.

"Why do we need any more of you with us?" Hal asked with suspicion.

"It is unbelievable that one of my species would be able to successfully capture and transport the four of you to the structure." The alien elaborated and even though it made logical sense it still didn't make any of the team feel any better about the situation. What human would feel comfortable at the prospect of being surrounded by Skitters?

They didn't have to wait long until branches started to snap from all directions and three more Skitters appeared from out of the trees. It went against every instinct Tom had not to pull out his gun and start firing but he had to show self control no matter how difficult the current situation was. He took a deep breathe of the fresh, cold night air and let his rifle hang calmly at his side.

Tom noticed that Hal had started smiling which was incredibly odd but his confusion was soon cleared up when his eldest son said to the red eyed Skitter,

"Take us to your leader."


	3. Chapter 3

**Saving Ben **

**Chapter Three**

* * *

A sense of foreboding rose within each of the four fighters from the 2nd Mass as they were forced to hide their weapons within their coats, out of easy reach and walk off surrounded by Skitters. Some final reassurances were given through the harnessed girl before they left her behind but even those words provided no comfort as the structure loomed larger and larger in front of them.

The terrifying roar of Mechs could be heard as they got closer and it caused Tom to glance over at Hal to make sure his son was keeping his cool.

When they caught each others eye, Hal nodded briefly to show he was OK before looking back down at the ground in his attempt to seem like a prisoner.

By the time they got to a ramp that led into one of the legs of the structure, a couple of Mechs had come over to the party to investigate what was happening.

For a moment the four Skitters stopped, causing the humans they were surrounding to stop and wait as a silent conversation occurred between the red eyed Skitter and the Mechs. A tense few minutes passed before the Mechs suddenly stomped away and the group were free to continue. Tom let out a sigh of relief that was quickly negated when they had completely entered the structure.

The place was swarming with Skitters who all appeared to be moving either up or down the structure via the walls. Fortunately there were stairs for the humans to use or they wouldn't have been able to ascend the structure and it was clear that although mostly only Skitters used the structure, it was equipped to deal with humans as possible prisoners.

Before using the stairs however the group conveniently stopped next to one of the walls which allowed Dai to discreetly stick to the wall one of four small packages that he had been given by Weaver before he left. When he was sure the item was secure, he gave a small nod and the group kept moving.

The four humans were led into a large room that had a number of long black pipes hanging from the roof in clusters that were clearly meant to hold one prisoner each. Some of the clusters were already occupied and the pipes seemed to be inserted into those humans in an almost grotesque fashion that was painful to observe.

Recalling the part of the plan from their discussion with the Skitter leader previously, Tom led his group over to the clusters, stood in the middle of one and grabbed two in his hands. On the surface it would hopefully look as if he was attached to the pipes and would therefore draw little suspicion whilst the Skitter tried to contact Ben.

It was impossible for him to have contacted Ben from far away and had to be in the structure for Ben to be able to hear him. It was simply a waiting game now as Hal, Maggie and Dai mimicked their leader's position and waited to be led away again. However Dai was not totally unoccupied as he busied himself, subtly attaching another package to the wall.

Through the general noise and clatter of the structure, Hal who was closest to the other humans in the chamber, started to hear some sounds that were unmistakeably groans.

He turned around as much as he dared, catching sight of one of the prisoners and his heart clenched at how emaciated the man looked.

Not thinking with his head but more with his heart, Hal whispered, "Dad, do you see that guy?"

Some of the rebel Skitters seemed to bristle at the noise he was making and he imagined that they would have shushed him if it had been possible for them to make such a sound. Tom turned to look in the direction his son was pointing and the sympathy on his face was obvious.

"There is nothing we can do for him Hal." Tom stated quietly but in a voice that left no room for argument.

Hal tried to argue any way, "But Dad..." Whatever the younger man was going to say further was drowned out as a Skitter screeched at him in his own way of telling the human to be quiet.

Hal simply fell silent but cast a look over to his partner. Though Maggie said nothing, Hal could tell that she felt the same way in the situation and that she wouldn't want to leave any human behind. Especially not as they were planning to blow at least this part of the structure to hell.

They had no choice however. It would be almost impossible for them to save the half a dozen humans in this chamber on top of trying to find a way to Ben. Not to mention they would have to get out again with someone that all of the Skitters and Mechs would recognise instantly.

Eventually the leader seemed to come alive again from the supreme stillness he had managed when trying to contact Ben and made a few clicking noises that were clearly telling the 'prisoners' to follow him as shortly after that he left the chamber.

Hal was the last human to follow and spared a brief backwards glance in regret at those they were leaving behind before following his father to go save his little brother. When he focused on that it was far easier to forget about the captured people because his family would always be top priority.

* * *

The next time Ben woke up, he felt sore all over and was getting distinctly annoyed at the fact that he was constantly passing out whether due to chemicals or pain.

That annoyance however quickly faded away when he realised that he was in a far different place to any of the rooms he had previously occupied. The room was an extraordinarily large circular shape with ceilings so high they almost couldn't be seen and everything was was covered with a blue light coming from some unknown source. He was currently sat on a series of interlinked wires that looked to be made of some organic material but none of these things were what really drew his attention.

The giant Overlord currently leaning over him with a sombre look was taking more of his focus.

He scrambled to his feet and tried to back up in search of an exit but the Overlord held out one large hand in a stop motion and Ben felt himself stop. The feeling of being frozen that he had only ever felt when one of the aliens was doing something to him automatically stopped when the Overlord lowered his hand and Ben felt like he could breathe again.

"Ben, I wish to speak with you." Ben didn't need to look behind him to know that a harnessed child was stood there because he realised as soon as the unrecognisable voice filled the room.

Feeling a surge of bravery, Ben responded, "Then lets talk."

"You are...unexpected Ben Mason." The Overlord stated with no emotion.

"Didn't mean to throw a crimp in your plans." Ben replied cockily and insincerely.

"Unexpected but not uncontrollable." It was a brief but potent reminder of how Ben had been forced to stop moving only minutes before and served to stop him from getting too confident.

"So what are you going to do with me?" Ben asked unsurely.

"We have already done it." The Overlord stated and Ben felt a cold chill permeate his body that had nothing to do with the temperature.

"What have you done to me?" Ben demanded with some anger but before the alien in front of him could comply, the Mason boy felt something inside the ship reaching out to him through his mind and was sure that his spikes were lighting up at that moment.

He tried to listen to the response but at the same time he opened his mind to let his exact location flow from his mind to the mind of whoever was searching for information. He couldn't tell who it was but he could sense the person or creature's intentions and that they were good so he decided to trust them. Besides whoever was looking for him was surely less dangerous than the Overlord in front of him.

"We have studied you and the results have been...intriguing but we no longer have need for you." The Overlord explained and although Ben was only partially paying attention he was focused enough to realise that he was in danger.

He sped into action before the alien had any time to react and ran at a superhuman pace to the closest door. He was fast but the room was huge and he fell just short of the door as the Overlord forced him to stop again. He was so close that he could have reached out and touched the door if necessary.

That was when he noticed the harnessed boy that had been used for communication, making his way over to him. The boy was easily as old as Ben and was even a little taller and so contained the strength to choke Ben and that was what he started to do, with Ben unable to move due to the Overlord's commands.

Luckily Ben had an incredible lung capacity due to the after effects of the harness and was able to hold his breath for long periods of time so his mind raced as he sought for a way to get himself out of the fatal situation. He felt the person within his mind again and this time he sent out with as much force as he could muster, the idea that he needed help.

Not a few seconds after, the panel in front of him burst open to reveal a red eyed Skitter charging in and hitting his whole body into the harnessed child. Tom and Hal were the next two into the large space and came in with their guns loaded and aimed at the giant creature in the centre of the room.

With no hesitation, Tom let three rounds off into the Overlord's body and it it slumped to the ground, still and unmoving. Hal had taken the time to help up Ben who could now move and they both ran for the door together with the Skitter leader and Tom just behind them.

They had no choice now but to run and hope that they could get out of the structure whilst there was mass confusion following the Overlord's death.

"Dad, you came for me." Ben exclaimed happily as the unusual group ran and scurried down the hallway to the stairs.

"I will always come for you son." Tom replied, giving his little boy a one armed hug that was slightly awkward because they were running. The oldest Mason didn't care though because he had his son back and so he was damn well going to hug him.

They breathed a sigh of relief when they found that the stairs were practically deserted as the Skitters in the structure would have no need to use them. They would use the walls to travel up to the top floor of the structure, leaving the way out mostly clear.

When they got to the bottom floor, an uncomfortably long time later, they could see the way out but it was across a swarming sea of Skitters that they wouldn't be able to cross with such high profile company. Ben was too noticeable but they couldn't fight their way out so they had to be sneaky.

Doing the best they could, with limited time and resources they resumed the position that had gotten them into the structure but with one more 'prisoner' this time. In an attempt to hide Ben, Hal had given him his coat which had a hood on it and the sandy haired boy had attempted to cover his head and face with it.

It was risky but it was the only chance they had so they started to walk and found that the other Skitters simply moved around the rebels that were acting as 'guards' and paid little attention to anything other than their own business.

The cold night air had never tasted fresher but there were still Mechs around outside that they needed to watch for so Ben kept his hood up and they maintained their formation. It was an unnecessary precaution however as no Mechs were patrolling and they were able to make their way back to the trees with relative ease.

Once they reached relative safety, Dai turned to Tom and asked, "Ready Tom?"

"I think we're at a good distance, go for it Dai." Tom ordered and the Asian man was happy to comply. He grabbed a detonator from his pocket that he had linked up to the four packets of C4 placed around the structure and pressed the button.

Almost immediately and simultaneously the four packets exploded at their four different points, one even being on the top level of the structure and the leg started to collapse in on itself.

They knew that the whole structure wouldn't collapse as they had only targeted one leg but they were hoping to slow down the progress of the aliens at the same time in any way possible. It wouldn't hurt if they could kill some Skitters at the same time.

Both humans and aliens alike watched with satisfaction as one leg fell into a heap at its base and it was clear from what they had seen inside that they had just killed hundreds of Skitters.

Hal took a moment to think about the half a dozen humans left inside but realised that the rewards of blowing up that leg did outweigh the costs and he had to remember that.

"Thank you for you're assistance Tom Mason. We will be in contact again soon in regards to Ben but we will let you all rest for a while." Ben's voice cut across the tree filled space but it was clear that he was speaking for the red eyed Skitter.

"Thank you as well for helping me save my son." Tom replied with a nod and they all watched as the four Skitters disappeared into the darkness after that.

As soon as they were out of sight he reached out to Ben and pulled him into a real hug that he had been hoping for since he first heard that Ben had been taken. "Don't take your time on a mission like that again." Tom scolded but his heart was only half in it because he was just so happy to have his son back.

"I won't Dad." Ben replied, returning the hug with equal vigour.

Almost as soon as Tom let him go he was enfolded in Hal's arms, who didn't say anything but simply tried to let his actions speak for him and tell his little brother how glad he was to have him back.

As they pulled apart, Hal clipped him on the back of the head once for getting sloppy but then gave him a big grin to tell him he really didn't care about that any more.

Tom allowed a few moments for his team to catch their breath and calm their nerves in which time Maggie and Dai also told Ben that they were glad to have him back before he ordered, "Alright, lets go and find the 2nd Mass."

* * *

To put it simply they were exhausted and so Tom found them a small clearing to rest in and to build a small fire in as the temperature was dropping dangerously low and all but Ben were shivering.

There was a few minutes of calm silence after the fire was lit where the only sound was the crackling of the fire and Tom decided that it was time to voice a worry that had been on his mind.

"Ben...I need to ask you something?" Tom asked uncertainly. Ben just nodded for him to continue but Tom couldn't seem to find the right way to phrase what he wanted to say.

Eventually, without making eye contact, he asked, "When you were up there did they...were you...tortured?" The last word came out twisted and sickened and the pain was clearly etched across his face at the idea of his little boy being hurt in the way that he had been.

"Not as such." Ben spoke carefully because he didn't want to lie to his father but wanted to ease any burden the older man might have felt at not protecting him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hal demanded as his worry escalated at his little brother's words.

Ben let out a deep sigh as he took in the four worried gazes directed at him, though two were significantly more worried than the others. "They sort of had these black tentacles things go into me and that hurt but they didn't actually torture me." Ben explained and watched as the others relaxed a little but not completely.

"What were the tentacle things doing?" Tom asked although at heart he realised that it was not realistic for Ben to know what the tentacles had been used for.

It was at that point that Ben voiced a theory he had had since speaking to the Overlord, "I think they were used to study me and my body and capabilities. When I was speaking to the Overlord he said something about that."

Tom nodded thoughtfully for a moment as he absorbed the information that stated, "The Skitter leader did say that the Overlord's hadn't expected the harnesses to have the effect they did so maybe they were trying to find out more about exactly what that effect was." It was a reasonable hypothesis and the group almost automatically excepted it, mostly due to their trust in Tom.

"I think we should probably get going. We haven't gotten much distance from the structure and I bet all kinds of Aliens will be swarming to this area to check it out." Maggie suggested and they all quickly agreed. Tom made a mental note that when they got to the 2nd Mass they should tell Weaver to keep moving as far and fast as possible in case the aliens sent some patrols after the humans that had destroyed their structure and killed their Overlord.

Dai smothered out the fire and removed all traces of it having been there and then they started once again to trek back to their home.

* * *

In the absence of his best scouts, Weaver had no choice but to send the Berserkers out in front of the 2nd Mass as they started to move. If he was honest the Captain still felt uncertain over whether or not he could trust Pope but he had faith in Anthony who he believed was whole heartedly loyal to the 2nd Mass and knew that the group of misfits would be kept in line for the most part.

The ride was smooth for the most parts mainly due to the fact that they had not run into any Skitters or Mechs. It was odd and Weaver was in edge because of it. He felt even more uncomfortable about the situation because the whole of the camp had seen and heard the explosion that came from the Wilmington structure and he had expected the aliens to be crawling all over the place.

But they had not seen a single one.

The only stop they had had to make was when the Berserkers had come back to meet with the camp with an extra person situated on the back of Anthony's bike. Rick hopped off the bike almost immediately after it had come to a stop and ran towards Weaver with a desperate look on his face.

"Help me!" He begged, burying his hands in the front of the older man's jacket.

"What's wrong?" Weaver questioned, trying to disengage the teenager's hands but failing due to his excessive strength.

"I was being chased but I don't know by what. I think I outran them a few miles back but I kept going just in case and then I ran into those guys." Rick explained, pointing to the Berserkers and with emotion in his voice that they had never heard with him before. He was usually so solemn and contained and that change alone was enough to give Weaver reason to be suspicious.

The old Captain wasn't one to throw anyone by the wayside however and so he said to the boy, "You can stay with us and we'll help protect you. You're one of our own after all." Rick finally let go of Weaver with a grateful smile on his face.

Weaver then turned to a random soldier stood close by and ordered, "Find this boy some food and a seat in one of our vehicles." The soldier immediately attempted to fulfil the order but once Rick had turned, Weaver added on an extra order in a murmur, "And watch him."

The three words held a world of connotations that let Weaver's feelings be clearly known.

He didn't trust Rick.

* * *

Tom and his team didn't make it back to the 2nd Mass until the following day when the camp had fully settled into the place that Weaver had scheduled for them to stay in for about a week. The area had a lot of surrounding trees far enough apart to get the vehicles through but covered enough to protect from anything that might fly over head. It also had a Hospital that was in scouting distance that Weaver wanted to raid for supplies.

When they walked into the camp, they did it to sounds of cheers from the surrounding people and they were hailed like heroes for the damage they did to the structure. The people didn't even know what the group had done in killing an Overlord and they were already impressed.

They tried not to smile at the praise but by the time they made it to Weaver's tent, the smiles were pretty much plastered to their faces.

"Ben, its good to see you back with us." Weaver stated walking over to Ben and giving his shoulder a firm squeeze. Ben smiled and nodded shyly at the somewhat emotional display from the hardened soldier. "You've done a good job Tom if that explosion two nights ago was anything to go by."

Tom started to show some excitement as he imparted the full news of what they had accomplished to his commander. "We didn't just blow up part of the structure Captain...we killed an Overlord."

Weaver couldn't believe his ears at that incredible news, "Well I'll be damned!" Weaver exclaimed as he took off his cap to scratch at his head. "That must be why we haven't come across a single damn Skitter since that explosion." Weaver speculated.

That caused Tom and the rest of the team to pause and glance amongst each other. They similarly hadn't come across any Skitters or Mechs on their way to reuniting with the 2nd Mass despite their belief that the area should be swarming with them.

Weaver's suggestion held some credibility and Hal asked, "So are you say that killing the Overlord made everything go to hell in the organisation of the aliens rather than making them set an attack against us?"

"It makes sense doesn't it?" Ben input into the conversation. "I mean if the Skitters are harnessed and the Mechs are just robots controlled by the Overlord's then with the boss gone they would have nobody to tell them what to do and it would descend into chaos." Ben looked around to see if anyone was agreeing with his words and found that his Dad was nodding at him with pride in his eyes.

"What do you think Tom?" Weaver asked in reference to what Ben had just said.

"I think we have a window of opportunity here Captain..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Saving Ben **

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Jimmy was on kitchen duty when he found out that Tom and his team were back and that they had brought back Ben. A random person working at a giant pot whispered the news and Jimmy dropped his knife onto the table and sprinted out of the room as fast as his legs would allow him.

He caught Ben, Tom and Hal just as they were walking into their family tent and the two older Mason men kindly left the two teenagers alone. Ben let off a big smile when he caught sight of his best friend and took a step towards him until he noticed the look on the other boy's face.

"What's wrong Jimmy?" Ben asked softly.

"Ben, I...I'm so sorry for not hearing the Mechs...for getting sloppy. Its my fault you were taken." Jimmy looked as if Ben being taken had torn him apart and Ben tried to comfort him.

"Its not your fault Jimmy, I should have listened to you when you warned me that we should leave." Ben said as he lay a hand on Jimmy's shoulder.

"But..." Jimmy started to say but Ben interrupted him.

"No buts...Its not your fault. What happened doesn't matter now because its all over. I'm back and not only that but we managed to cause some serious damage and kill an Overlord. That would never have happened if I hadn't been taken." Ben's attempts did appear to console the boy who suddenly looked up with intrigue.

"Did you just say you killed an Overlord?" Jimmy asked with some amazement.

"Well my Dad did it...but yeah, we killed an Overlord!" Ben replied proudly.

"Dude...that is so bad-ass!"

* * *

It wasn't long before people started talking. In fact after Ben and the rest of the team that had saved him had slept off their journey and got back to work, the stares and whispers were the first thing to greet the middle Mason son.

People didn't do it very obviously but whenever Ben would turn his head he would see a smattering of people quickly adjusting themselves in an attempt to appear as if they hadn't been staring. Ben had been used to the looks he got due to the fact that he was a 'razorback' as people had dubbed him but those whispers had mostly died out before he left.

Now they were back and Ben had good enough hearing to know exactly what they were now saying about him. There were a lot of different rumours actually and he wasn't sure which one he liked the best. The one that said that they had done something to him on that ship and that he was now no more than a ticking time bomb that was waiting to lead the aliens to the 2nd Mass was one that Ben thought was a reasonable fear.

The one rumour that he absolutely hated however was the one that said he had knocked out Jimmy and ran off with the aliens in the hope that he could get his family to come after him and then he and his alien pals would have killed them.

It made him lose control of his anger so much when he first heard that one as he couldn't believe that people would think he would hurt the ones he cared about like that. He had had to take a long walk and had to take his aggression out on a random tree to ensure he didn't do anything he would regret.

One thing that seemed to make the people of the 2nd Mass trust Ben less was that Rick had constantly been following him around. Nobody trusted Rick so they automatically assumed that the two de-harnessed kids must be plotting something together.

Of course they weren't, Ben didn't trust Rick either and on top of that the boy never really said anything so it was hard for them to get through a day together let alone plan an alien raid together. If Ben was honest he was getting really sick of having Rick around all the time and constantly left hints for the boy to leave and do something else. One time he even explicitly said as much but the boy just smiled and stayed put.

Ben eventually decided that he needed to go to Weaver to ask if Rick could be assigned to a different job but when he heard voices inside the command tent when he was still a decent distance away he paused.

The voices were distinctly Weaver, his father and Pope and Ben busied himself over a nearby table as he listened in on their conversation.

"...out of line Pope!" Tom's angry voice filtered through the tent flaps.

"Do you have any evidence to back up your claims Pope?" Weaver said calmly just after Tom had finished speaking.

There were a few seconds of silence before Pope asked, "Do you even know what happened up there? Can you be sure that he told you everything?"

"Of course I can, I trust my son." His father's impassioned declaration had Ben smiling and he felt his heart warm up a little bit.

"Weaver said you found him with the Overlord, tell me Mason...did he tell you anything about what they had a chat about?" He left an implication in the air that Ben may have made a deal with the Overlord or may have been accomplices with him and it made Ben feel sick to his stomach at the thought.

He desperately needed to know that his Dad didn't think that of him. That he would never believe that he would side with the aliens. He needed to know that his father trusted him.

But all he could hear from inside the tent was silence.

He only let himself bear the torment and accusation that the silence held for a few moments before he tore away in the other direction. Everything passed in a blur as he ran and he thought he even heard some people calling his name but he blocked it all out as the fact that his father didn't believe in him burned through his soul.

Ben didn't stop as he reached the perimeter of the camp and ran straight through the barricades and the fact that the guards didn't tried to stop him was a testament in his mind to how much people didn't want him in the 2nd Mass. In reality the guards hadn't tried to stop him because he had been running almost faster than the human eye could comprehend so by the time they noticed someone approaching their position, they only had time to raise their guns before the blur was gone.

Very soon, Ben started to hear other footfalls against the soft muddy ground around him that sounded distinctly human. The fact that this person was able to keep up with him made it immediately obvious that it was Rick now running alongside him and saying nothing.

Before too long, the sandy haired boy started to feel his anger build towards Rick for following him even when he was trying to run away. With blinding speed, Ben stopped running, spun into Rick's path and slammed the taller boy into a nearby tree, causing it to shake at its roots.

Rick's face showed no change in emotion at the change in position, if anything he seemed to be smirking slightly.

"Why the hell do you keep following me!" Ben shouted into the boy's face as he slammed him against the tree again. This time the tree actually started leaning to one side.

"I was waiting for this moment Ben. This moment when you realise that the humans don't care for you and that your true family are the only ones that will ever love you." Rick explained, seemingly unperturbed by the way Ben was assaulting him.

"Do you mean the Skitters? You think our real family is the Skitters?" Ben asked with genuine disgust in his voice.

"They would never abandon you Ben, they would never not trust you." If Rick was planning to say anything more he never got the chance to because a second after he said that Ben's family didn't trust him, Ben's fist collided with his jaw. There was no satisfying sound of bone breaking as Ben was hoping for but Rick's head did whip to the side with the impact and the punch had been cathartic.

"My family may not believe in me but I would never go back to the Skitters, I hate them!" Ben took a deep breathe and then realisation dawned on him. "That was why you came back to the 2nd Mass wasn't it? You came back to try and get me to rejoin the Skitters and that was why you were following me around!"

Ben stumbled back away from the boy he had at least thought of as a friend but now he could see as the manipulative shell of the human he once was.

"Just leave Rick." Ben demanded in a defeated voice without making eye contact.

"What?" Rick asked with real confusion colouring his features.

"I said leave, start walking back to your family and don't ever come back to the 2nd Mass. You even try to and I'll make you regret it. Your putting everyone I love in danger and I won't let you do that." Ben was firm and unyielding in his tone and Rick could see that there was no chance that Ben would come with him. After a few unsure moments, Rick relented and started to walk off in the opposite direction of the camp.

When he was too far away from Ben for anyone with ordinary hearing to be able to hear him, Rick turned back and said, "I hope you can live with your decision Ben." With those final words he took off at a run into the trees and disappeared.

Ben didn't regret his decision of not going with Rick for a second but he knew that he might regret the decision he was about to make. He was going to leave the 2nd Mass as well because nobody wanted him there. It was better for everyone if he just slipped off quietly.

"Ben?" In his despair, Ben had missed the incredibly loud footfalls of his brother coming up behind him and so when he heard his name called out he span around to see Hal.

The confusion on Hal's face was obvious and it was clear from his panting that he had been running to catch up with Ben non-stop since the younger boy left the camp. Ben briefly wondered how Hal had seen him when he was running so fast but the thought was fleeting and soon disappeared.

"Ben, what are you doing all the way out here?" Hal asked, taking a few steps closer to his brother and finding it a good sign that Ben didn't retreat from him.

"I...I followed Rick out here and he...uh he left...for good." Ben put a fake smile on his face and held eye contact for a little too long.

"You never were a good liar Ben. When you were 10 years old you would swear up and down that you hadn't been the one taking Dad's books and putting them back in the wrong order but we could always see right through you." Hal said and he saw a guilty look pass over Ben's face.

"I heard Dad, Weaver and Pope talking about how the people don't trust me, how they want me gone. Then Pope said...something and Dad didn't defend me. It looks like he doesn't trust me now either so I might as well leave. Everyone would be happier." Ben looked close to tears and Hal felt tears prickle at his own eyes as he witnessed his little brother's pain.

"Look, I can't speak for Dad but I trust you Ben and I can guarantee that if you left I would follow you so don't make me leave the comfort of my camp bed." Hal said which produced a weak smile from Ben. "But really man, your my brother, whatever Pope said, he's full of crap and me and Dad and even Matt will always stand by you."

By this point Hal was close enough to Ben to pull him into a hug and the younger boy immediately started to cry when his face hit his older brother's chest. "I love you Hal."

"I love you too Ben."

* * *

"Where the hell have you two been?" Tom asked with great concern on his face when he saw his two oldest sons walking back into camp. He was first alerted to their presence when Matt, who had been keeping vigil by his side, ran off past the barricades.

It had resulted in a group hug between his sons that had warmed his heart but he still needed to scold them for worrying him so much.

"Sorry Dad, we decided to go for a run and seeing as the aliens are in chaos I thought it would be pretty safe, especially with super boy here." Hal finished with a slap to Ben's stomach.

Tom was not a stupid man. He had been a Professor before the invasion so despite the fact that Hal was a very good liar, something about the story made him suspicious. He looked to Ben to verify if what Hal was saying was the truth and immediately recognised the guilt hidden in his middle son's eyes.

Tom very quickly came to the conclusion that Hal was covering for his brother and so let the issue slide whilst there was a crowd around them.

"Just be more careful in the future." Tom warned softly and the two boys nodded.

"You couldn't have taken me out with you guys?" Matt whined to his brothers when his Dad was finished.

Both Hal and Ben looked down when he spoke as if just suddenly remembering he was there and they both laughed.

"Maybe next time." Ben answered and Matt pouted because he knew that a 'maybe' was as bad as a 'no'.

"You guys must be tired, why don't we go back to the tent?" Tom suggested pointedly and Hal realised that he hadn't bought their lie for a second.

When they were back in their family tent and away from prying eyes and ears Tom turned to Hal and Ben and asked, "Why did you really leave?" his tone left no room for lies and Ben wasn't really able to anyway.

Hal just looked at the floor as he gave his brother time to vent his feelings without interruption. Just as Tom was about to ask again, Ben spoke up and said, "I heard your conversation with Pope." Ben started and had to look away from his Dad as he continued, "I heard that the people around here don't trust me... that you don't trust me." The last part was said in a whisper and realisation dawned on the oldest Mason man suddenly.

"You heard Pope's accusation?" Tom asked Ben.

"Yes and your silence afterwards said everything I needed to know so I ran." Ben explained but this time he didn't feel the need to cry. He just felt angry.

"Ben, you ran away too soon. I was so shocked at what Pope was implying that it took me a second to respond." Tom leaned over and made Ben look at him as he carried on, "I shouted at Pope, tried to swing for him and Weaver said some stuff about him trying to turn us against each other and Pope left the 2nd Mass."

The look in Tom's eyes as he spoke was all sincerity and love and Ben knew that his father wasn't lying because Tom had the same inability to lie as Ben had.

"You do trust me? You know that I would never make a deal with those creatures right?" Ben was half pleading for his Dad to say the words to ease the hurt that had unknowingly been caused an hour or so before.

"Of course I do. You're my little boy no matter what happens."

At that moment, Ben could finally say that he was home.

* * *

**A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to The-Fiction-Fangirl for reviewing and I hope you all enjoyed the story.**


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